


The Cloud's Territory

by RiverRunFree



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Asgore will be bitten to death, Awkward Hibari, BAMF Hibari Kyouya, Cinnamon Roll Papyrus (Undertale), Clingy Lambo, Don't hurt Hibari's people, Everyone thinks Lambo is Hibari's kid, F/F, F/M, Flirty Frisk, Frisk kills Toriel and that is not ok, Frisk would be dead by now without those, He pretty much is, Hibari bites them to death multiple times, Hibari has issues, Hibari is Perseverence, Hibari is probably demisexual now that I think about it, Hibari on a mission, Hibari remembers resets, Hibari secretly likes puns, Hibari takes over the Underground, His secondary is Integrity, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Lambo is Determination, Lambo just wants grape candy, M/M, Misgendering, No Ecto-Penis (Undertale), No Smut, Nonbinary Frisk (Undertale), Past Child Abuse, Sans (Undertale) Has Issues, Sans (Undertale) Remembers Resets, Sans grows on Hibari like mold, Sans keeps bugging Hibari, Selectively Mute Frisk (Undertale), Skelles don't have dongs weirdos, Smut or not there is no blue dong, Temporarily Unrequited Love, The Underground is the new Namimori, Undertale Genocide Route, Undertale Pacifist Route, cuddles instead, don't tell Hibari that, possessive hibari, resets are sometimes convenient, slow burn probably, smol sans - Freeform, smut free
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-04-22 10:21:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22168819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiverRunFree/pseuds/RiverRunFree
Summary: Hibari and Lambo fell down a hole and ended up in a secret society monsters. Hibari doesn't know what's going on, but he does know that these people are in desperate need of a proper carnivore. Good thing he fits the bill.
Relationships: Alphys/Undyne (Undertale), Lambo Bovino & Hibari Kyouya, Sans (Undertale)/Hibari Kyouya, Toriel (Undertale) & Hibari Kyouya
Comments: 36
Kudos: 233
Collections: Time Travel and World Travel





	1. The Backstabber

**Author's Note:**

> I have weird ideas. This is one of them.

Hibari and the cow herbivore were just visiting Ebott for a chance to negotiate with an ally. Anyone else would have been more suited for the job, but they were all busy with something else. Them never making it to negotiations was probably a good thing.

The cow herbivore ran off in a tantrum of his. Hibari wasn't sure what it was about, but the herbivore was getting bitten to death anyways. Hibari cursed viciously as another branch thwacked him on the forehead. Tracking the herbivore was turning out to be harder than it should be. As he was searching for the next disturbance in the plant life, he heard a familiar scream.

Hibari didn’t think, he ran. Flames boosted him as much as they could. He was whacked by many tree branches as he ran past. Sticks and leaves made crackling sounds as he stepped on them. The hole went unnoticed by him until it was too late. He was going too fast to stop in time. The ground seemed to disappear beneath his feet.

His eyes widened and he flailed as he flew in the air. For the first time in many years, he felt fear. He didn't like the feeling at all. He closed his eyes as he fell into darkness. He would get through this. He would persevere... If only to make sure the cow herbivore was bitten to death for the trouble he caused him.

He fell for quite some time and when he landed, there was no pain. To his surprise, there was not a single injury on his person. He looked down to see that he had fallen into a bed of flowers.

The flowers should not have been enough to soften his fall. He picked a yellow flower and glared at it. It looked like a normal flower. Hibari huffed and threw the flower away. Carnivores don't need to know the specifics of such things.

The place he landed in was cavelike and dark. The only light in the place was shining on the flower bed. He whipped around as he heard an unmistakable sound of fighting coming from down the pathway. His eyes narrowed as he stalked his way through with his tonfas in hand.

There the herbivore was in his adult form dodging bullets coming from a flower herbivore. It was a sentient flower with yellow petals and an ugly face.  
The tonfa was a blur to any that saw it. There was a satisfying thunk as the tonfa hit the flower herbivore in the face. The flower groaned from it's place on the ground.

"For assaulting my herbivore you will be bitten to death," he said, baring his teeth.

No one could hurt his herbivore. Even if he was the obnoxious little thing that got them here in the first place.

Hibari went full out. The flower was struggling to keep up with him. He dodged the many white bullets. His tonfas were blurs. All the while, he was grinning. It was clear who was winning.

The ugly herbivore was smart and, after a good beating, fled like the herbivore it was. The skylark huffed at the direction the flower went.

The cow herbivore was still in his adult form. Hibari gave the herbivore an unimpressed look.

"I'd bite you to death, but you're not the idiot that ran off. It wouldn't be worth the effort."

The herbivore forced a nervous smile. He had an odd look on his face. Hibari didn't bother to identify it.

Hibari ignored him and started on the path again. The herbivore followed for a short distance before turning back into his child form.  
They ran into a large goat herbivore farther down the path. It was an actual goat creature that called herself a monster.

She spoke English. Hibari didn't know the language as well as he wanted to, but he could get by. The cow didn't know anything about the language.

She called him 'child'... He didn't know what to think of that. Nobody has called him 'child' since before he could walk. People found him too intimidating to call him a child. This didn't seem to apply to the goat. She wasn't the slightest bit intimidated.

He was impressed. He wondered what a fight with her would be like.

Hibari studied the goat as she cooked. She didn't seem hostile, so he would give her the benefit of a doubt.

"Would you mind passing the salt?" The goat herbivore asked.

Hibari pried the clinging herbivore off his lap and handed the salt over.

It seemed he would have to scout the territory. They were going to be here for awhile.  
\-------  
It's been about six months since they fell in the Underground. Hibari had established himself as the carnivore of the ruins. Monsters feared him as they should. THe cow herbivore learned English and he was no longer fighting for his life every time he walked out the door.

The cow herbivore was his. It took awhile for the herbivorous monsters to get what that meant, but they caught on soon enough.

They were stuck here according to the goat herbivore. She was wrong of course. They were on vacation until Hibari got sick of it. Too bad Kusakabe didn't come with. He probably needed it more than they did.

The goat herbivore served as a mother figure for his herbivore. He was glad for it. Hibari could never give the cow herbivore such blatant affection as the Small Animal and his friends usually do. He stuck with what he did best, protect.

But that wasn't enough for a child. The only affection he received came from his fellow guardians and sky with their fond glances and the brushing of their flame against his in greeting. As a child, his father's heavy hand was all that he knew and look how that turned out.

The skylark was shook out of his reverie by the familiar sound of pellets hitting something. The flower herbivore was causing trouble again.

When Hibari arrived at the scene, he was greeted with the ugly herbivore assaulting an unfamiliar human on all sides with his bullets.

Hibari threw his cloud flame encased tonfa at the bullets.

"I'll bite you to death where you stand, herbivore," Hibari spat. “Humans are off limit here.”

The flower got away in the end, but not before he was half dead.

Hibari hummed in satisfaction before turning to face the human.

He stared at the herbivore for a few seconds longer than necessary. The herbivore had a rounder face than normal, olive skin, and closed eyes. The gender of the child was hard to determine. The herbivore was androgynous in looks and clothing. 

Hibari decided to let other people determine which the herbivore was.

"Herbivore, follow me," he demanded.

The herbivore followed him, without a complaint. The herbivore was careful to follow his example on the traps and was not bothered by the other monsters. They knew better than to mess with anyone in Hibari's presence.

The goat herbivore welcomed the tiny herbivore with open arms. She adopted the herbivore from day one. The cow herbivore liked the new herbivore. They fought and played like siblings.

Hibari learned that the new herbivore identified as agender. The concept baffled him at first (he never came across one before), but he got used to it.

The herbivore also used sign language. He only knew how to say 'I'll bite you to death' in that language as was the case in many languages. As time went on he and the cow herbivore learned sign language.

The new herbivore avoided any violence by flirting. They even tried convincing Hibari to do the same. Violence was the way it was done. He was too far gone to change. However, they were determined to show him a different way. No matter how many times he turned up his nose at their speeches on violence not being the answer, they kept at it. The flirty herbivore turned out to be just as cuddly as the cow herbivore. It could grow annoying at times, but he tolerated it.

Things were good. The peaceful time was almost unnerving for him. Toriel had taken away the cow herbivore's grenades after she learned he had them. The bazooka was left alone. There was none of the chaos that was so commonplace with the Small Animal around.

Then the flirty herbivore left.

Hibari had never seen the goat herbivore as sad as she was that day. She always had a quiet sadness hanging around her, but this was different. This was strong and fresh.  
The cow herbivore was miserable in the flirty herbivore's absence.

It irritated Hibari. The flirty herbivore should have stayed. At the same time, he understood why. Clouds drifted where they pleased after all. The goat herbivore could be smothering in her mothering.

The downhearted behavior of his herbivores didn’t stop though. He was close to going after the herbivore himself when time reversed itself. He was back to the day the flirty herbivore arrived. He was at the table again, half eaten cinnamon butterscotch pie in front of him. The cow herbivore was wailing about his spilt milk. The goat herbivore was trying to console him. 

His denial period was much shorter than a normal person's would be. He was already familiar with time travel shenanigans.

Hibari went through the day in a numb sort of shock. The flirty herbivore only stayed a night this time. The goat was as heartbroken as before. The cow herbivore didn't care as much as the last timeline.

Then it happened again… and again… and again. There’d be times when time was pulled back a couple hours or minutes instead of going all the way back to the first meetings.  
Sometimes the flirty herbivore stayed longer than others, but they always left.

Hibari only grew more frustrated. He was trapped and no amount of violence could free him. This realization unsettled him. Violence was always the answer.   
This timeline turned out to be different from the others. The flirty herbivore had their eyes open. Their eyes were hard and red. They didn't use sign language near as much.  
The hair on the back of his neck stood up when around them. His gut clenched uncomfortably when he met their eyes. He didn't know why.

The goat and the flirty herbivore went downstairs. This was when the flirty herbivore usually left. Except it was taking longer than usual. Hibari gave a lazy glance at the clock. What was taking them so long?

He took a moment to force the cow herbivore's finger out of his nose with a glare.

It had been forty minutes when he decided to go check it out. He walked down the stairs. There was trepidation filling his gut as he reached the hallway.

The door at the end of the hallway had the multitude of scorch marks littering the place. It looked to be a scene of battle. He wasn’t sure how he didn’t hear anything. His stomach dropped as his eyes landed on what was in front of the door.

A scattered pile of dust.

He stared. Then he sunk to the floor next to it. Hands trembling, he touched the dust, the remains of Toriel.

The backstabber killed her and left her like that. She took them into her house and heart. This was how they repaid her. What happened to violence not being the answer? Was that all an act to make him let his guard down?

His gaze hardened as he looked up to see the door.

He raged that day. He destroyed dummy after dummy. He trashed his room. He ripped into his pillows and threw anything he could find. He growled and screamed. He did so until he could barely move, and he couldn't stop the sense of betrayal. He shouldn’t have let himself grow so close to them.

He had to force himself to get up and make supper. He sat down with the cow herbivore and ate. Everything tasted like nothing.

"Where is Mom?" The cow herbivore asked. "Lambo-san has a picture to show her! Haha, it's Lambo-san's greatest picture yet!"

Hibari looked at the cow herbivore and he felt sick. He didn't want to talk about it, but the cow herbivore deserved to know.

"Toriel is… Dead."

He never saw the cow herbivore cry so hard before. It started with watery eyes and escalated into loud heart-wrenching sobs. He clung to Hibari like a lifeline. He called for his mom as if it would bring her back.

This time, Hibari held the cow as he cried. If a couple of tears escaped his eyes, well… no one had to know.

For once, he was glad when the timeline started over again.

This time when he beat up the flower, it was because the backstabber was his to bite to death.

And he did so many times. He killed them in a multitude of different ways. After it got tiring, he let them escape. Though they didn’t go uninjured.

He may one day stop seeking them out to bite them to death, but he would never welcome the backstabber into his territory again. They would never get close enough to the cow herbivore and Toriel to hurt them either.

Hibari would make sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never written a gay pairing before, so I decided to start out easy... Lol, maybe not. I never saw a Hibari/Sans pairing before, so we'll see how this turns out. I'm open to constructive criticism. What do you think about how I portrayed Hibari? I put a lot of effort in getting him halfway decent.


	2. Leaving the Ruins

Over the many timelines, Hibari noticed that the backstabber tended to be more violent when their eyes were open. The problem was easily solved by biting them to death. They came back with their eyes closed.

Sometimes, he didn't catch them on time. They somehow escape the flower before Hibari could get to them and they dust everyone they encountered.

He always sent Toriel and the cow herbivore away to let the backstabber go off into wherever the door leads to. The backstabber hasn't killed Toriel since that first time.

Hibari was glad, but he realized something over the last few timelines.

The ruins were boring...

There was hardly any diciplinery action needed here even when time was not looping around like this. There was no clouds to watch. There was no herbivore screaming about boxing all the time. There was no pineapple to fight with.

Hibari couldn't help but be interested in what was beyond the door. When he asked about it, Toriel said there was a whole other territory of herbivore monsters. She talked about a herbivore husband and how he killed her children to break a barrier using their souls. She spoke of how he could have already broken the barrier if he would have taken a soul and walked through the barrier to gather the rest of the souls needed.

The whole thing dissolved into a venting session. Hibari found that he didn't mind. Toriel seemed like she needed it. It was an easy way to give back to the monster that let them use her home and take her food. Hibari was a good listener after all.

And if Toriel felt killing intent radiating from him during the spiel, she didn't mention it.

"I am going to bite the herbivore to death," Hibari promised.

Toriel smiled, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"It's nice of you to say that, my child," she said. "I really don't think that will help."

The skylark looked her in the eye. His hand raised near his face. He allowed his purple flames to emit from his Vongola ring.

"The only way for the herbivore to learn is for him to be disiplined. If the only person capable of doing it is me then so be it."

Because the herbivore was the leader of the territory beyond the door. He had a way to free them right now and he was too weak to do it. Instead he takes children's lives.

It disgusted him. This was why herbivores shouldn't have territories.

So, Hibari sent Toriel out of the house like he always did, but kept Lambo with him. He dressed his herbivore in a cow mask and a striped sweater that went over his cow suit. His herbivore would look like a young cow monster. It'd be better to leave him, but his herbivore needed more experience anyways.

By the time, Hibari was done preparing, the backstabber long left his territory.

What he didn't tell Toriel was that he was going to stop the timeloops as well. He was almost sure the backstabber had everything to do with them.

The only way for the herbivore to be properly bitten to death was for the time loops to stop.

He was aware of how much time and work that would take. He wasn't a scientist. He wasn't even much of a thinker. This would be hard (he was bored anyways, so it gave him something to do). He wouldn't let that stop him. He would Persevere.

Hibari walked out the door with the cow herbivore on his back, a satchel by his side, and his tonfas hidden in the sleeves of his suit.

The land beyond the door was cold. Snow blanketed the grounds. Thin trees surrounded the path.

Hibari followed the little footprints. It only took a couple of minutes for his herbivore to start yapping.

"Lambo-san is cold!"

He was ignored.

"Lambo-san is hungry!"

The herbivore went on the whole way. Hibari was close to strangling the herbivore by the time he came across it.

It was a pile of dust. Hibari faltered in his walk.

"Lambo-san is freez- Wait, what is that?"

The cow herbivore was looking at the pile curiously.

"A dead herbivore," he replied. "The backstabber has been here."

The cow herbivore gave the pile a solemn look.

"...Oh."

This was what happened everytime he let the backstabber leave the ruins with their eyes open. He left all the herbivores here to die who knows how many times.

He knew they wouldn't remember it, but they do tend to keep certain feelings. How many of them look at the place of their death and feel unexplicably traumatized.

The realization made him feel guilt. He should have stopped these time loops sooner.

But where was their carnivore when they were being killed? A carnivore's duty was to discipline and protect the inhabitants of their territory.

Hibari remembered the times when he experienced the same couple of minutes multiple times. Perhaps that was the carnivore killing the backstabber. So when time finally moved on from those couple of minutes, the carnivore must have died. Here he thought it was a cause for relief.

Hibari went around the dust and started running. Flames boosting his speed.

"Aaah!" Exclaimed the cow herbivore, clinging for dear life. "Slow down!"

"No time. The backstabber is on the move."

Hibari passed many unset traps and dust piles. The backstabber hadn't left anyone alive. He did his best to ignore burning guilt and anger in his gut as he passed the dust piles. He wasted no time in admiring the scenery.

Eventually, he found the building the backstabber was in. He set his cow herbivore down near the door.

"You are not to go through this door until I tell you to." There was a urgent note in Hibari's voice.

The cow herbivore nodded. "Lambo-san shouldn't be bothered by small matters like this."

Hibari smiled and gave him a brief pat on the head. The cow herbivore beamed at the small display of affection.

The place he stepped inside of was a fancy hall with columns and clean orange flooring.

The sounds of battle echoed throughout the place.

A skeleton monster and the backstabber were fighting. Bone shaped attacks were flying everywhere. Odd skeleton dog heads were shooting lasers. The backstabber was dodging them with practiced ease. It almost looked like they were dancing. The skeleton was sweating and panting, but he still managed to dodge them. 

A cartoonish heart shaped soul was on full display in front of the backstabber. It was almost the same color as Lambo's. He didn't know much about souls. They seemed to appear in fights among monsters. The monsters didn't have their hearts coming out, but his came out. They were a weak point. It hurt more to be hit there than anywhere else. Toriel probably explained it to him, but he wasn't listening. Maybe she was speaking the cow herbivore when she explained it. He tended to tune out anything that wasn't addressed to him. 

Hibari suspected the backstabber did this fight many times before. The skeleton must be formidable. He couldn't help, but admire the skeleton's powess. 

He was a fast one. Hibari wanted to fight him so bad, but there wasn't time and an exhausted opponent wasn't any fun.

"Backstabber!" He spat. 

Both the skeleton and the backstabber stopped and whipped around. The backstabber paled. The skeleton looked confused.

A bloodthirsty grin grew on his face.

"Your reign of terror was cute while it lasted," the skylark said, pulling the tonfas out. "Unfortunately, it ends now. I will bite you to death."

The tonfas ignited with cloud flames.

He wasted no time in making the first move. The backstabber was strong, but not strong enough to be weary of.

Hibari was merciless. He put deadly force in every swing. The backstabber was desperately trying to dodge. They were unsuccessful for the most part.

The skeleton watched with dark eye sockets and rattling bones that made clacking sounds.

At one point, the background turned dark and there was only the backstabber and him. His heart was purple with blue flecks on it. Hibari didn't blink an eye. This happened often in the Ruins. He thought it was a monster ability, but he was mistaken.

  
The trick didn't make this any easier on the backstabber. He just dodged the knife and continued his barrage of attacks.

The fatal blow came and the backstabber laid there dying. Hibari watched with a hard look on his face. 

The backstabber stared back at him, defiance shining in her eyes.

Hibari glanced up to find the skeleton sitting all curled up with his back against the wall. He was clacking harder than ever. Blue tears rolled down his cheeks. His sobs were silent.

Hibari took the time to examine him. The skeleton was short and chubby with a cartoonish face. He didn't look quite like a human skeleton. His smile seemed to be stuck on his face as he cried. Hibari wasn't sure how a skeleton managed to be chubby. Then again, a skeleton shouldn't be able to cry either.

  
Hibari felt pity for the skeleton. He couldn't understand what the monster was going through, and he wasn't good at comfort but he tried.

"Stop crying or I'll bite you to death."

Violence worked with all the other problems. Apparently, the skeleton disagreed because he looked at him in a odd way. His sockets weren't dark anymore. There was pinprick white light that served as eyes. They expanded after a couple seconds. There were blue tear tracks under his eyes.

Hibari plopped down next to him getting a view of the dying child. It didn't look pretty. The skeleton was still crying. Hibari clutched his tonfas, unsure of what to do. He didn't know this person. It struck him as odd that the skeleton would show such weakness in front of a total stranger.

When the backstabber finally died, things disintegrated starting with the backstabber and going outward. Hibari noticed the terribly resigned look on the skeleton before the world went dark.

"Are you alright?" Toriel asked with a hand on his shoulder. "You've been staring at you pie for ten minutes straight.

Hibari's eyes widened and he dashed to gather the stuff. He snatched the striped sweater again and stuffed it on the cow herbivore.

"Gyupaa!" Exclaimed the cow herbivore.

"What are you doing?" Toriel asked, looking at him with a nervous look.

We're going to bite your ex to death and make him regret his actions." He said, fumbling to make the stuff fit.

Toriel opened her mouth.

"No time to explain. It's magic flame bullcrap. You need to leave the for a couple hours."

Hibari used the magic flame excuse often to get Toriel and his cow herbivore out of the house. Toriel usually left it alone, but that wasn't the case this time.

"You can't bring Lambo. He's just a child. He'll get killed!"

Hibari stopped what he was doing to give her a dark look. "The cow herbivore was a part of the mafia before he could talk. Being targetted is a part of his life. Babying him will get him killed."

Toriel frowned. "I'm not too sure I like this Mafia."

"Not many people do."

"...Call me at least once a week will you?"

He nodded.

And that was the end of that.

Hibari and the cow herbivore waited at the ruin door for the backstabber.

"Lambo-san is bored. What are we doing here?"

"Waiting."

"Waiting for what?"

He was ignored. The cow herbivore did not let up.

"Can we go yet?"

Hibari pursed his lips.

"What are we waiting for?"

After awhile, Hibari started wishing the cow herbivore would loose his voice. Thankfully, he spotted the backstabber before he resorted to drastic measures.

The backstabber's reaction to his presence was not what he was expecting. They paled and their eyes widened. Their hands trembled. Hibari glared down at them. His killing intent leaking into the atmosphere. They visibly flinched and cowered away.

Hibari never noticed the extent of their fear of him. They were defiant when their eyes were open and they ran from him when their eyes were closed. Though he did remember the one time after the timeline where they killed Toriel.

"_I'm sorry. Please, I can explain!" Backstabber signed. It was so fast that it was barely legible._

_"I don't care about your_ _explanations._ _Hold still and die."_

_They ran and Hibari followed. He relentlessly chased them until they could go no further._

_They panted, sweat dripping down their face and drenching their sweater. "Please, I would never kill Mom. I was not in control. You have to believe me."_

_"I don't believe you."_

_Believing them_ _ would require trust. He didn't trust them. Maybe if they wouldn't have killed his people. Maybe if it were some other stranger, he would have believed them._

_He approached their sitting form. They scrambled backwards._

_"Please, have mercy."_

_Hibari smiled in a way that looked more like baring his teeth. "I'd be scum if I gave you mercy. You don't deserve mercy. You killed what's mine. You will be diciplined if it's the last thing I do."_

_He killed the backstabber. He was confused when it didn't stop his anger and grief. He was even more confused when seeing Toriel alive didn't help either._

"This who we were waiting for? She doesn't even look like much," the cow herbivore said.

"They," Hibari said.

"Huh?"

"They prefer they/them pronouns."

"I knew that! Lambo-san knows everything!"

"Sure you do."

His gaze turned back to the backstabber. They were still cowering.

"Explain everything,"

The backstabber visibly swallowed before spilling everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking next chapter might be Sans's view of how things went down. I'm also thinking of making another version of this where Hibari falls in Horrortale alone. Can cloud flames clone food? They're not very specific on the limits of these things.


	3. Something New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans has mixed feelings about the new human.

Sans stared at the pile of dust with dark eye sockets. Cardboard armor and a scarf was among the dust. He gently removed the scarf from the pile and stared at it for a time.

This was the third time he was left with the remains of his brother. Things were fine though. Papyrus would be alive next reset.

He felt his soul crack a bit more. He was such a failure.

Sans pocketed the scarf and teleported to the Judgement Hall. This was a routine by now. A horrible routine for times when the kid went on a murder spree. He'd wait here for them to come to him. He'd fight them. They'd aim to tire him out until an opening was found.

Things played out as usual at first.

Frisk arrived covered in dust, their red eyes filled with hatred. An emotion monsters weren't familiar with. This feeling he felt looking at the kid was as close to hate as it got with them. The pair went through the motions because that's all this fight was at this point. He called them a dirty brother killer and made his speech. They glared at him before starting an Encounter. He'd send many bones their way and they'd dodge them. They swung their knife at him only for him to dodge it. He'd send the occasional comment their way. They continued for a long time. He was tiring and he knew his death was only a matter of time.

Then something new happened.

"Backstabber!" An unfamiliar voice called.

Sans faltered in his attack. Both of them whipped around. It was a human. Sans forgot to breathe. Not that he needed to.

The human was intimidating in a way Undyne could never compare to. His eyes were narrowed and empty. His resting face was devoid of emotion. It felt like Sans was looking at a lion which he saw in a movie he salvaged from the junkyard. The human felt wild and dangerous. Sans couldn't imagine anyone taming this human.

Other than that, the human looked like Frisk, but bigger and more muscular. Humans didn't have a lot of variety.

An eager grin creeped up on the human's face. He had eyes only for Frisk. He looked at them like they were prey. Sans might as well be a chair for how little attention he received. He was glad for it too.

"Your reign of terror was cute while it lasted." He pulled out two long metal bars from his sleeves. "Unfortunately, it ends now. You will be bitten to death."

Cute? Frisk going on a murder spree was cute? Frisk betraying the ones who used to be their friends was cute? In what reality was that cute? Sans felt his eyelights go out.

The human's metal sticks ignited with purple fire. Frisk was dodging vicious strikes before he knew it. This human was relentless. Frisk didn't manage to dodge all of the hits, and the human was not letting them get any hits in. The kid actually had to start the encounter this time.

The human would be gone next reset. Things go back to be the same stupid routine. Papyrus would keep dying. Everyone would. Why couldn't he move and help? What was he doing? Sans realized he was trembling. He couldn't stop no matter how hard he tried. Tears were running down his face. All the stress, grief, and fear he bottled up finally surfaced.

"Stop crying or I'll bite you to death."

Sans froze for a moment, staring in disbelief at the human. Was he for real? If he could stop, he would have already. He usually avoids breaking down in front of people.

Wait, was he trying to...comfort him? Sans wanted to laugh, but all that came out was a sob.

He was vaguely aware of the crumpled form of Frisk. They were going to reset soon. He knew this because loads always happened straight after they died.

It would be like Papyrus never died. He would have to act like nothing happened while all he wanted to do was throw himself into his brothers arms and break down. Sans wanted a day where he didn't know everything about to happen, but at the same time, the idea of it scared him.

Sometime during his meltdown, the human sat down next to him. He didn't try to give useless platitudes. He didn't even touch him in a show of comfort. He was there as a silent show of support. At least, that's what Sans took it as.

Despite first impressions, Sans felt his dislike fade away. A bad person wouldn't bother with a random stranger. The human might be rough around the edges, but he meant well. Sans was sure of it.

When the timeline finally reset, Sans realized that the chance of seeing the human again was unlikely. He wouldn't admit it, but the thought made him a bit sad. He didn't want to go back to the same old routine. Especially when he got a small taste of life without it.

It was nine in the morning just like every reset. He was in his bed. He couldn't muster the energy to move. Why get up when nothing new would happen? What was the point? It will reset anyways.

There was a loud knock on his door. "SANS, YOU LAZYBONES! GET UP! WE HAVE A JOB TO DO!"

Papyrus.

Sans felt unwelcome tears dribbling down his skull. Confusing emotions roiled in his soul.

"ya, i'll be up in a sec."

There was a pause. Apprehension coiled in his soul.

"Sans Is Everything Okay?"

Great, now he worried Paps. Get a grip.

"everything's fine, bro." Sans wiped his tears off with his sleeve.

"ALRIGHT, IF YOU SAY SO! BREAKFAST SPAGHETTI IS IN THE FRIDGE!"

"yup."

It was time to tackle the day… again. It seemed harder to do now that he got a taste of something new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the first time, I have a vague plan of where a story of mine is going. Next chapter, Hibari's going to realize how much he messed up. Comments are much appreciated.


	4. Explanations

There was a sinking feeling in Hibari's gut. This wasn't going where he thought it was.

They took a shaky breath. 

_"I made a mistake. I was curious and tired of failing. I decided to kill everybody for one run. I didn't bother with you two because I knew I didn't stand a chance against you. After that run, Chara ended up in my head. We're always fighting for control. Sometimes, Chara wins. That's when monsters are killed."_ Frisk grimaced, avoiding Hibari's stare.

There was a certain weight to their words. As if his reaction would tip the balance of something important.

_"Chara was the first fallen human. They were Mom's adopted child. They died from eating buttercups. They hate and fear you. Personally, I think they admire you as well."_ They took a shaky breath. _"I should have never done that. There was no excuse for it. I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry._

Frisk's eyes opened for the first time since Hibari met them. They were brown and had a puppy like quality to them. They reminded him of the small animal. Tears were sliding down their cheeks.

He messed up. They were really just a child without a murderous bone in their body. He should have known better. All the times where he ruthlessly murdered them flashed through his head. This time there was no sense of vengeful glee. That was a child he murdered most of those times. He crossed a line he thought he'd never cross.

He felt sick. His teeth were clenched so hard, he was surprised they didn't crack. Frisk's screams echoed in his head. The shame and regret overwhelmed him.

"Are we just going to sit around here all day doing nothing? Lambo-san has better things to do. This is boring." The cow herbivore was sitting on the ground, squirming with pent up energy.

Hibari lifted his head, a glint of determination lingering in his eyes. Lambo was right. There was no time to linger on his regrets. There was only time to right them.

"These genocide and neutral runs. What are they?" Hibari asked. They didn't sound good.

Frisk's eyes widened, hope shining on their face.

_ "Well, you know about the time stuff right?" _

Hibari gave a curt nod.

_ "We call them resets. Each reset goes differently, depending on how I act. They’re named according to what goes on. Genocide is when Chara takes over completely and kills everyone. They've happened a couple of times. Neutral is when Chara slips through temporarily and kills or I don't meet a certain requirement. Those are the most common. _

_ I'm aiming to get through the underground without killing anyone, which is a True Pacifist run. I keep on coming up short because I also have to befriend everyone. That includes you and Lambo too. It's the only run I haven't achieved before." _

Hibari could have asked a lot more questions, but he decided it didn't matter.

He grabbed the cow herbivore's hand and opened the door.

He turned back to see Frisk staring at him with a disappointed look.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go."

They smiled. Their eyes were, once again, shut. Hibari couldn't help but think they were adorable.

_ "Thank you." _

_ Don't thank me. I killed you. _

Hibari gave a tight nod.

He wouldn't be able to befriend people, but he could protect them. Frisk and the cow herbivore could do the befriending. He owed them that at the very least. Even if he hated being in someone's debt. Though there was something that was bothering him.

"Do you have to befriend the stalker herbivore as well?"

Frisk paused and frowned. _"Who?"_

"The herbivore that's been standing there the whole time." He tossed his head in their general direction.

Said herbivore stumbled back in shock. They were made with a goop-like substance making them look like they were partially melted. The face was white with cracks going through their eye holes. There was always a demented smile on their face.. They looked like something that belonged in a horror movie with their tall, looming figure.

The stalker herbivore liked to hang around when he was napping and staring at the ceiling in place of cloud watching. They never crowded or caused a ruckus. They didn't even try to talk to him, so he ignored them to the point where he often forgot they were there at times.

He thought they were doing some sort of intimidation tactic on him. He was unimpressed. If you want to intimidate someone, you have to use violence.

Frisk looked around in confusion.

They returned their gaze on him, skepticism apparent.

_ "Hibari... there's nobody here besides Lambo." _

When Hibari looked again, there was nobody to be seen. He sighed.

"They'll be back."

Frisk didn't look comforted by the fact. They looked apprehensive. He didn't miss their suspicious glances in the direction the Stalker Herbivore was at.

"We should go," he said.

Hibari opened the door, taking the lead.

"Finally!" The cow herbivore bounded after him. Frisk smiled, looking older than they should be, and followed after them.

The cold air assaulted them the moment they stepped out. This time, both Hibari and the cow herbivore were prepared. Their coats protected them from the worst of the chill. Frisk wasn't so lucky. They hugged themselves to keep warm. Their teeth were chattering within a couple of minutes being out there.

Hibari plopped his coat on their shoulders without a word. They jumped and beamed at him upon realizing what he did.

He scowled and turned away from them. "You need to be alive for me to bite you to death."

Frisk flinched away. He deserved that.

The cow herbivore took to wandering around as they walked. He ended up climbing different trees, picking at bark, and making snow angels. Hibari didn't let him wander too far.

They were going at a slow pace. Most of them had small legs and couldn't go fast. The snow certainly didn't help.

It was quiet with the exception of the crunching of feet stepping in snow. Hibari wondered if this quiet was normal down here.

Hibari felt his hair stand on end. Someone was watching them. His hand twitched to his tonfas. If it had been a couple years earlier, he would have hunted the herbivore out to violently put them in their place. Now he had a little more self control. He would wait for them to make the first move then bite them to death. Make them think they have an advantage.

Thwack!

A snowball hit Frisk's back. Their face went slack in shock. Hibari had tonfas out, ready for a fight.

"Ha Ha! The great Lambo-san got you." He puffed out his chest.

A mischievous grin grew on Frisk's face. While the cow herbivore bragged on, they shaped a snowball and knocked him in the chest, mid-sentence.

This, of course, turned into a full blown snowball fight. Hibari leaned against a tree with a huff. A smile played on his lips as he watched. It was a good thing they weren't limited on time.

Then Hibari felt it. There was someone right behind him.

His tonfas were in his hand in a second. He whirled around the tree.

"_What_ do you want?" he said, words sharp and promising death.

The skeleton jerked backwards, eye-lights vanishing. The children stopped, their attention on the two.

"Oh." Hibari lowered his weapons. It was the skeleton from before.

There was a moment of tense silence. The skeleton's eye-lights reappeared and his body relaxed into a slouch. Hibari's eyes narrowed.

"is that any way to greet a new pal?" He asked, holding a hand out. "i'm sans the skeleton."

He was a wolf in sheep's clothing just like Hibari's uncle. He wanted to fight him so bad. The opportunity to test his skills was there. Sans wasn't even worn down from a previous fight. There was nothing stopping him.

"Fight me." Determination blazed in his eyes.

The offered hand went down. The eye lights shrunk to pinpricks.

"there's no need to get-get violent here, pal."

Hibari advanced on him. A predatory look in his eye. Sans stumbled backwards. Blue beads of sweat ran down his skull. His smile appeared strained.

An ear-piercing whistle split through the air. It was Frisk trying to get his attention.

_ "You can't fight him." _

Hibari clenched his jaw. The command in their words didn't sit well with him.

_ "Violence isn't the answer here." _

They gave him a pointed look.

He deflated. He forgot about that. He pursed his lips. There would be no fighting until they came across the king herbivore. He looked at his tonfas longingly before putting them away.

Sans appeared to be relieved. Hibari wasn't sure how a skeleton could have any facial expressions, but his face seemed to be malleable.

"I'll fight him later."

Sans eye sockets narrowed, still smiling. A pretender; that's what he was. Just like Hibari's uncle and Takeshi. Always hidden behind masks. 

He really wanted to fight him. He wanted to see the carnivore beneath the mask. He wanted to feel the rush that came from fighting a worthy opponent.

Sans shifted under Hibari's gaze before speaking with the familiarity of someone that made this speech many times before. "anyways, i'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. but... y'know... i don't actually care about capturing anybody. now my brother, papyrus... he's a human-hunting FANATIC. hey, actually, i think that's him over there. just slide through the gate thingy over there."

Hibari got the feeling this was somehow rehearsed. Frisk's distracted nod didn't help matters. The cow herbivore stared at the skeleton in his fascination.

They slid through the bars making it towards a station with an oddly shaped lamp randomly hanging around there. A figure was coming closer in the distance.

"quickly, hide." Sans said with a wave towards the lamp and the station.

The cow herbivore tightened his hold on Hibari and glared at Sans in a suspiciously Hibari sort of way.

"You can't tell Lambo-san what to do!" the cow herbivore puffed out his chest. "Lambo-san can handle himself."

Hibari simply stayed where he was. His glower said all there was to say. Frisk gave them a sigh before staying where they were.

"uh ok, I guess you don't have to," Sans said looking unnerved.

Another taller skeleton herbivore walked in. He was a good bit more intimidating than Sans just by size alone. He looked more like a stretched out, human skeleton. He wore a homemade armor costume with a red scarf and cape on.

"SANS, HAVE YOU FOUND A HUMAN YET!?" he yelled.

Ah, so this herbivore was one of the 'disturbing the peace' kind of herbivore.

"yeah," Sans replied with a wink.

"REALLY!? WOWIE!" his expression brightened. "GUESS THAT'S SETTLED THEN!"

He walks off without a glance towards any of the humans he was supposed to be hunting.

"that worked out, huh?" Sans said.

Frisk and Hibari exchanged a glance.

"The herbivore's utter lack of self preservation astounds me," Hibari said dryly. The loud herbivore reminded him of the small animal's mom with all her air headedness. Three potential threats and the herbivore ignored them all.

Hibari paid no attention to the fact that he liked the herbivorous mother.

Sans' eyelights went out. Hibari almost smiled. Maybe there would be a fight after all?

His hopes and dreams were crushed when the cow herbivore popped in. 

"Lambo-san thinks he's fantastic," he said with a wide grin. He was only saying that because he saw the similarities with the Vongola's motherlike herbivore as well.

"he's the coolest," Sans said with a fond look in his eye socket.

Hibari's shoulder slumped in a defeated sort of way. If the cow herbivore liked him, he couldn't let the naive herbivore die because of his own stupidity. "Herbivores like him are particularly reliant on carnivores to stay alive. Don't leave him alone with potential threats." Hibari set his steely glare on Sans. He looked like he smacked him with one of his tonfas.

"...i'll keep that in mind."

Frisk and Sans shared a look. Hibari wasn't sure what that was about.

The cow herbivore tugged his shirt, lifting his arms up when he looked at him. Hibari tried to be discreet about picking him up, but he wasn't sure of his success.

"Let's go!" The cow herbivore whined.

Hibari allowed Frisk to take the lead, seeing as they've done this before.

"wait!"

Frisk stopped and turned around, quirking an eyebrow. Hibari kept walking.

"i'm coming too."

Hibari paused looking back to see Frisk's utterly surprised look. 

"Well, are we going?" He asked with an annoyed look. The cow herbivore mirrored the look next to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hibari is rubbing off on Lambo. Sans thinks Hibari is Lambo's dad. Hibari is pretending he doesn't care about Lambo, but he's fooling no one.


End file.
